Novenario
by Enderlynn
Summary: Sasuke, a handsome, anti-social young man goes back to his hometown to attend his beloved brother's funeral. In a state of complete shock, he has trouble getting himself to accept his loss. The first day of his brother's Novenario, he encounters a strange blonde with a calm and soothing presence. In nine days, will he be able to come into terms with his loss?
1. Prologue: Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

A/N: This is the first story I've uploaded on this account. It's unedited, so I hope if there are any mistakes they aren't bothersome. I hope you enjoy and please leave reviews! Also, I'll upload the second chapter tomorrow since it's also part of this prologue.

*A novenario is a Spanish tradition where for nine days after the death of a person, relatives pray for the safe arrival of the deceased person's soul into heaven.

* * *

He was never the type who would go out of his way to communicate with people. He lived his days mostly alone, without anyone that he could be sure that he could call his friend, that is of course with the exception of his brother Itachi.

Itachi, a few years older than him, was the only person he could confide in. Sasuke found himself unconsciously depending on his brother for several things. Although he would not admit it aloud, Itachi was truly the only person he put all his faith and trust into.

He was lazily strewn across the floor of his living room, it was a hot day and he was trying to stay as close to his only fan as possible.

"Hey, it's been awhile since we've seen each other, you should come over soon you know." He heard his brother's voice through his cell phone.

"Yeah, I'm getting a break from school soon, so I was planning on going. It's only fair since you came here last time." He chuckled softly as he said it.

When he spoke to his brother, it was almost like he was a completely other person from the one he normally was. His demeanor was relaxed, the air about him was light, and he knew that it all had to do with Itachi's influence. Itachi was the kind of person who made anyone feel comfortable and at ease around him.

"How was school, did you make any new friends since the last time we spoke?"

"What are you, a mother? Haha, well I'm pretty confident that I've been doing great thus far, as for friends, you know I'm not good at making those."

"I'm sure it's not because people don't approach you, am I right?" His brother said laughingly.

"Well yeah, I guess you're right, it's pretty bothersome when people approach me though, especially when they're girls, they always seem to have something else on their mind when they speak to me."

"And is that so bad? Maybe you should try getting yourself a girlfriend, don't you think little bro?"

Sasuke, although slightly annoyed by his brother's words, couldn't help but grin at his brother's pandering tone.

"Yeah yeah, what about you, how's Kakashi?"

Kakashi was Itachi's male lover who was a few years older than Itachi. They had recently begun living together after seeing each other for a few years. Sasuke got along fairly well with him, and he didn't have any prejudices about his brother being with a man.

"He's great, he's finally all settled in, I could tell it took him awhile to get adjusted to such a big living space." Itachi chuckled lightly.

Both Itachi and Sasuke were orphans since a young age and they inherited their parent's estate after their deaths.

Their parents died after their private plane crashed leaving no survivors, along with them were other members of the Uchiha family. The only family they had left was some cousins, and aunts and uncles that Sasuke wasn't very close to, but who Itachi maintained a closer relationship with.

Sasuke lived alone with Itachi until he decided to go away for college. He currently lived alone in a one bedroom apartment that was fairly close to his university.

"Yeah, I guess it is pretty big there, I'm actually looking forward to seeing you guys, I need a break from the city life." Sasuke sighed as he said it.

"You think so? Well when's your break anyways?"

"It's a week from now, so I'll be taking the plane there as soon as I get out of my last lecture."

"Well I can't wait little bro, I'll call you in a few days, just call me or text me if you wanna talk, it's my turn to cook today so I need to go."

"Yeah, I need to finish up a few papers due this week, so I'll text you if anything."

"Alright, well speak to you soon."

"Ah, wait Big Bro…"

"Yeah?"

"Um…"

"I love you Sasuke. Is that what you wanted to hear?" Itachi sneered into the receiver.

"Shut up. I love you too… have a good night, and give my regards to Kakashi."

"Will do, well bye then."

"Bye." With that Sasuke hung up the phone and proceeded to make himself his own dinner.

Since then, three days had passed.

Sasuke tossed and turned in his bed kicking the blanket off of his legs. It was 3 AM and because of the heat, he was completely restless. Spring had just barely begun, and he was already dreading the upcoming summer.

"I probably need to get myself an air conditioner soon." Sasuke thought aloud.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.

"Huh, I wonder who it is at this time…"

He quickly grabbed his phone from his bedside table. He saw that Itachi was the one calling.

"He never calls at this time, I wonder what's wrong." Sasuke thought and he felt his heart quickly pick up its pace.

"Itachi, what's wrong why are you calling so late?"

"Sasuke…"

It was not Itachi's voice that Sasuke heard, but rather Kakashi's.

"K-Kakashi?" Sasuke stammered as he spoke Kakashi's name. At this point, he was positive that something was wrong.

It remained silent on both ends until Sasuke broke the silence.

"Kakashi, where's Itachi, is something wrong?!"

"Sasuke…"

The silence seemed to drag on as if for an enternity.

"Itachi… He's passed away."

"What?" Sasuke felt his heart drop. There's no way he heard right, he knew something was wrong, but there could be no way that Itachi had… died… As soon as he thought of the word, he became hysterical.

"He can't be, how? He's got to be alright!" He found himself shouting into his phone.

"I'm sorry Sasuke." Sasuke noticed that Kakashi, who up until this point had managed to keep a serious and steady voice, spoke with a voice that quickly cracked as soon as he said it.

There was no way Kakashi would lie about anything like this. The fact that Itachi had passed away had become completely clear.

"I see…" Was all Sasuke could mutter. By this point, he realized that he had been crying, and that the tears were falling uncontrollably from his eyes.

"He went out drinking with friends last night. He was with Kisame and Kisame offered to drive him home. Kisame was drunk and there was a serious collision. Since the impact was made on the passenger's side, by the time Itachi arrived at the hospital, it was too late and Kisame remains in critical condition in a coma."

Sasuke knew Kakashi was having a hard time telling Sasuke what had occurred. It was difficult for Sasuke to bear listening to it at all.

"I'm sorry, I should have called you sooner Sasuke, but I…" Kakashi's voice wavered as he said this.

"I know." It was all Sasuke could manage to say. His head was spinning, his chest felt tight, and he didn't know what to do with himself.

"Your family agreed that it would be best to hold a funeral. They're leaving it up to you whether you want to hold a burial or cremate his body Sasuke."

"I'll decide on that when I get there." He said as he hung up the phone.

Sasuke fell on his knees and looked up towards his ceiling.

"Why?! Why?! Itachi! Why?!" He yelled as he sobbed. His body shook violently as he gasped for air in between his cries.

"Why…? Why…?" His voice seemed to be escaping him.


	2. Prologue: Part 2

**A/N:** Hi guys, well this is the second part of the prologue, I split it into two parts because it was just so long. I had to make sure I could even call it a prologue, lol. I hope you guys enjoy this second part. I hope the line breaks aren't too annoying, and if there are any mistakes, I apologize for those too since I tried my best to correct any, but there must be more that I missed. Also I'm pretty happy 'cause it's my birthday tomorrow so I really wanted to get this chapter out quickly (as a present to myself because I do like reading my own stories heh). Please leave reviews guys! Thanks!

* * *

Before he knew it, he could already see dawn breaking in. He had fallen asleep without realizing it. His head was throbbing and his eyes felt swollen. He wondered if he had experienced a nightmare.

Not knowing what else to do, or how to confirm it, he grabbed his phone. He checked his call history and saw the last call. His hands began to tremble and he dropped his phone.

There was no mistaking that it was a reality. Itachi had in fact died.

* * *

He ran quickly to his living room where he had left his laptop. He opened it and typed in the website address for an airline service. He booked the first flight he knew he could make it to and then ran back into his room to pack and get ready. He wanted to be there as soon as he could.

Ready with his suitcase, he exited his apartment and locked the door.

"Sasuke?" He heard a female's voice say.

He turned around and saw that it was Sakura, one of his neighbors. She was someone who spoke to him from time to time, nobody important to him, but not someone who bothered him tremendously.

"You going somewhere?" She inquired pointing to his suitcase with one hand, and playing with her pink hair with the other.

"Uh, yeah." Sasuke replied. He and Sakura both realized that his voice was completely hoarse.

"Is something wrong?" She asked with a look of true concern painted across her face. Her green eyes searched for an answer in his face.

"My, um, brother passed away."

"Oh my god I'm sorry." Sakura said as she walked over and embraced him.

Sasuke mentally scorned her for being overly familiar, but he took comfort in her warmth and embraced her back. He knew it took all he had not to cry in front of her. He felt out of place quickly enough and he pushed her away.

"I have to leave to catch my flight."

"Right. I'm sorry Sasuke, if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know, you have my number don't you?"

"Yeah."

He noticed she was blushing although she still held a serious demeanor.

"I'm sorry for you and your family's loss Sasuke. I'll always be here for you. May your brother rest in peace, and please, have a safe flight."

"Thank you." He muttered and continued on his way.

* * *

He had already arrived John F. Kennedy airport and was seated in the airplane. He felt completely anxious and he just wanted to arrive at Puerto Rico already. It felt like the three hours on this flight would be the longest of his life.

* * *

Sasuke went to pick up the car he had rented out when he booked his flight. He got in and drove towards his hometown. It was relatively near to the airport located in Ponce and he was suddenly filled with a feeling he could not quite identify.

He knew it would be odd to arrive and not see Itachi's smiling face. Instead he would be confronted with a harsh reality. He felt like crying again, but he knew he couldn't as he had to focus on his driving. The thought of ending his own life briefly crossed his mind, but he knew it wasn't what Itachi would have wanted. He kept driving.

He made it to his family's estate and was instantaneously hit with a wave of anguish. He again felt his heart drop.

"Itachi…" He whispered silently to himself.

He cut the engine to the car and looked at himself in the mirror, what stared back at him was what seemed to be a ghost of himself. His usual spiked hair was almost completely flat and ruffled, and his dark obsidian eyes were rimmed in redness and he had bags under them. Although he was already pale, he looked even more pale than usual.

Kakashi and some of his family members had already made their way to his car. He stepped out and they greeted him. It felt weird to him. Not only was Itachi not there to greet him, but the greetings he just received were lifeless.

"Come inside, you should probably rest first." Kakashi said to Sasuke.

Kakashi looked completely composed, but Sasuke knew he was trying his hardest to maintain the act. His silver hair wasn't as neat as usual, and his only visible eye was red and swollen. He was Itachi's lover after all. While a majority of Sasuke's family knew that Kakashi was Itachi's partner, there were others who did not know, so Sasuke realized that Kakashi had to keep himself as composed as he could.

"It's okay, I'd like to finish the arrangements as soon as possible."

* * *

The next few days passed in a complete blur. Sasuke was there but it felt like he wasn't. It felt like he was watching himself from the outside, unable to do anything at all.

There were a lot of people who went to the funeral, Itachi was truly a loved individual. Sasuke could not remember anyone who had been there or how he even acted the whole time. All he remembered was hearing a lot of "Sorry for your loss," or "Itachi was such a good person, it's such a shame," or "I can't believe it, it's truly a difficult time," or even a mixture of all three.

What he remembers most is something that would most likely haunt him for the rest of his life.

Itachi's face wasn't battered to the point where it would be required to have a closed coffin strangely enough. In fact, when Sasuke first laid his eyes upon Itachi, he was surprised to see that his face looked almost normal.

The peaceful look Itachi had on his face was what left the biggest impression on Sasuke. Since he was laid back in the coffin, his long black hair was out of his face. As always, a distinguishing feature on Itachi's face were the two diagonal lines making their way down Itachi's cheeks. Sasuke knew it was no mistake, and that Itachi was indeed lying silently in front of his eyes. The peacefulness Itachi's still body emitted made it seem like he was just simply asleep. It seemed too unreal. Sasuke wondered how he could have remained looking so calm at such a critical time.

Sasuke shed absolutely no tears during those days. He felt the urge to weep many times, but he could not for the life of him shed a single tear. Even after Itachi's body was cremated and he held the urn in his own hands, he still couldn't seem to believe that it had happened at all.

* * *

"We're going to hold a Novenario." Said one of Sasuke's oldest relatives Madara.

Sasuke wasn't particularly religious, but he wasn't against the idea of holding one.

"Okay." Sasuke said in response.

"They'll begin tomorrow then."

"Okay, I'll help you with the arrangements Madara."


End file.
